MINDFULNESS: A KEY TO IMPROVE METACOGNITIVE SKILLS

Abstract

Mindfulness is one of the best techniques for treating physical and psychological difficulties. Mindfulness means knowing what is happening while it is happening, no matter what it is. We can practice mindfulness in our everyday activities, such as walking, eating, writing, reading, cooking, washing the hands or dishes etc. Thich Nhat Hanh, a well-known Buddhist monk and author of several books on meditation, describes the practice of mindfulness as being aware of what one is doing while one is doing it. It is an attribute of consciousness long believed to promote well being by strengthening meta-cognitive skills and by changing schemas related to emotion, health and illness. Mindfulness involves the ability to notice and observe one’s own thoughts. A mindful individual maintains enough distance from his/her own thoughts to view them impartially, and this aspect of mindfulness makes it a meta-cognitive skill, involving cognition about cognition, which is the essential component of several skills like knowledge of cognition (meta-cognitive knowledge) and regulation of cognition. Mindfulness helps an individual to improve cognitive flexibility including meta-cognitive insight which refers to the development of greater intuitive understanding and awareness of one’s own thinking processes.